FDA Bans E-Cigarette Sales to Minors Amid Sweeping New Regulation

The multi-billion-dollar vaping business will get its first dose of federal rules after a landmark announcement.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Thursday announced the first-ever federal rules regulating the sale and marketing of e-cigarettes, including a ban on sales of e-cigarettes to minors and the requirement that anyone buying e-cigarettes show photo ID to prove their age.

The new regulations, revealed in a 499-page document, also require cigar and e-cigarette manufacturers to register with the FDA and provide a detailed log of their products’ ingredients, their manufacturing process, as well as undergo inspections and marketing restrictions (i.e. they’ll only be allowed to label their products as “mild” unless the FDA gives the green light); free samples are also a no-go.

Despite all the conflicting research on the health benefits of foods and supplements like fish oil, there's nothing quite as hotly debated as the benefits vs the disadvantages of e-cigarettes.

In 2014, we reported incidents of exploding e-cigarettes on multiple occasions (you can read about it here). Fast forward to 2015 and 2016, and we reported on two very different studies: One review—the largest study ever on the topic—published in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine found e-cigarette users are 28 percent less likely to quit smoking than those who never used e-cigarettes at all (read the full story here); and a statement from the government org Public Health England (PHE), which declared e-cigarettes are 95 percent less harmful than tobacco cigarettes, and—with support—can help smokers quit tobacco entirely (read the full story here).

If it makes any difference, England seems to be on an entirely different page than the U.S. regarding e-cigarettes and their ability to help smokers quit. This past April, the British Medical Group urged smokers to make the switch, The New York Timesreported.

In an article published in the May 2014 issue of MEN'S FITNESS entitled "E-Cigarettes: A Chance to Kick the Habit or a Health Crises in the Making?", we divulged how the FDA initially rolled out plans to begin the regulation of e-cigarettes, proposing legislation that would, finally, establish federal oversight of what so far has been an exponentially growing market without regulation. And now it's happening.

The popular “vaping” devices haven’t had any oversight before, but this new 499-page regulatory blueprint is putting in place parameters that might ruffle some feathers for the nation’s estimated 9 million e-cig smokers and the industry that caters to them.